R.A.B
A/N: Hello there! Thank you for your reviews- I'm very happy that you like this story.
Disclaimer: Nah. Only the plot.
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The stillness of the air was broken by a gentle morning breeze, sweeping over the hill and Ottery St. Catchpole. Faded pink and purplish streaks announced that the sun was rising, as Harry and Hermione reappeared in the very same spot they had left hours ago. Hermione grinned at the horizon and breathed in deeply; she loved the fresh, new, clean air that sunrises brought. It was so peaceful... Harry's arm sneaked around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him, and he kissed her temple.
It was simple surreal to think that hours and hours ago they had thought they were just friends- that neither of them knew what the true feelings of the other person were. There had been no drama, no fit of tears, no anguish...
And that was only a part of why it was so perfect.
"We should head back," Hermione suddenly said, breaking the silence. Harry grimaced at this.
"Must we? Can't be just owl Ron to tell him where we are?" he asked.
"You know we can't do such thing, Harry... What about the rest of the Weasleys?" Hermione replied, frowning slightly.
"I don't like saying goodbye to people," Harry mumbled. Hermione squeezed his arm at this, smiling warmly.
"But you won't be alone. Come on- The sooner the better," she told him, starting to walk down the hill and dragging Harry with her. Truth to be told, she wasn't too excited to face Ron or Ginny either, but for reasons completely different to the Horcrux hunt. Hermione doubted that the Weasley family, however nice they were, would understand why she had chosen Harry and not Ron. Had Rita Skeeter been right about her, after all, back in fourth year? What if everybody thought she had cheated on Ron with Harry? Hermione couldn't care less about what strangers thought, but she did care about her other best friend, and about Ginny, who despite being a fangirl was Hermione's best female friend...
"What's wrong?" Harry's clear voice broke her train of thought. Hermione blinked and realized that they were already a block away from the Burrow.
"Ron," Hermione simply said. Harry sighed and placed his arm around her waist, making Hermione's skin tingle.
"He'll have to understand," he said seriously. "He'll come around."
"I hope so..." Hermione trailed off, letting her hands wound themselves around Harry's arm. It felt so natural, so comfortable to be like this to him, so close, walking on that lone street. Hermione's thoughts again landed on their fourth year, and smiled widely when she recalled what Rita's article had said. For the future's sake, she should do a mental note of pasting that piece of the newspaper to her diary or something...
"What's up?" Harry wanted to know, also smiling.
"Well, I was thinking about that article that was published about our supposed love affair, and that I should give some credit to Rita Skeeter," Hermione responded, grinning when she saw Harry widen his eyes in horror.
"What?? Give credit to that- that... What for?" he spluttered.
"She said the right things in the wrong time," Hermione retorted smugly. "I'm not sure about the scarlet woman thing, though."
"You always played with Ron's feelings, and mine by default!" Harry replied dramatically. "Don't you dare deny so!" Hermione giggled at this for some reason; wondering why was she feeling so elated acting like a twelve year old with Harry. She never giggled.
"Viktor never told me anything about the article, though," Hermione mused. As they turned around the corner, Harry snorted.
"Maybe not to you- I had to endure The Talk," Harry admitted. Hermione raised her eyebrows at this new scrap of information.
"What did he tell you?" She asked curiously. Harry shrugged.
"He wanted to know if there `vas' something between Hermy-own-ninny and me," He answered, making Hermione grin wildly. "He believed you talked too much about me," Harry added, turning to grin back at Hermione, puffing out his chest mockingly.
"Now don't you start to gloat, Mr. Potter, or I'll reconsider," Hermione told him with a smirk.
"Funny thing is, I thought they were both delusional when it came to us," Harry confessed.
"And Cho was a tad bit militant, as well," Hermione commented. "But I'll give it to them, too- their delusions were pretty accurate in the end," she said.
"I'll say," Harry agreed, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Hermione was about to grab his face to pull him over for a more heated kiss when-
"Where have you been?!" A shriek made them jump out of their skins. Harry and Hermione looked ahead and nearly winced when they saw a fuming Molly Weasley standing in front of the Burrow's door, wand out and all. "We thought- You could've been kidnapped! You could've been killed!" She exclaimed.
"Please, Mrs. Weasley-" Hermione started, but was quickly cut off by Molly.
"And without as much as a warning- Half of the Order was about to start looking for you two-"
"We're sorry, Molly," Harry interrupted her. "I had some business to attend to, and Hermione came with me." he explained. Maybe they should be more assertive towards Mrs. Weasley, but he really didn't feel like elaborating.
"Some business to attend to?" Molly repeated, outraged. "Was it so important that it couldn't wait until it was daytime, at least?" she questioned. Before either Harry or Hermione could speak, she pointed her wand at the doorknob. "Inside. Now." She ordered without looking at them, plainly trying to calm down. Harry sighed as he strode over to the door, and Hermione was beginning to regret convincing him to come here again.
As they walked through the living room everything was very silent and tranquil; something quite strange when it came to Ron's house. When they entered the kitchen they found Mr. Weasley sitting on the table, writing on a piece of parchment; he immediately looked up at the sudden noise and his features relaxed.
"Oh, thank Merlin," he said with a tired smile. "Are you two alright?"
"Yes, Mr. Weasley. Thank you," Hermione replied. "We apologize for leaving without telling you."
"Well, I trust you two won't do it again," Arthur said, rising from the chair he was sitting on. "Now that you are both here, alive and kicking, I may get some sleep. Excuse me..." He added with a yawn, smiling at them one last time before disappearing through the nearby stairs. Harry gazed meaningfully at Hermione, who sighed.
"I know, I know," she told him, slightly annoyed. "We shouldn't have returned." At this Harry raised his eyebrows, surprised.
"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go to bed," he told her. Hermione raised her right eyebrow at his comment and half smiled.
"Don't you think we'll be rushing things?"
"What?" Harry asked, puzzled, and as he understood what Hermione meant, his cheeks turned into a healthy shade of red. "Oh- That- Well, I didn't mean it that way-"
"I know, silly," Hermione cut him off. The idea of sleeping with Harry had crossed her mind a couple of times, truth to be told, but she didn't think that it was a good idea right now- Too full of Weasleys... Besides, it was so- so cute to see Harry blush and stutter over the idea. "But no, I'm not really sleepy yet... What about you?"
"A bit, but not quite enough. Let's sit on the couch," he suggested, leading her to the nearest couch and plopping down on it heavily. Hermione smiled and rested her head on his lap, stretching out her legs so they hung from the arm of the couch, closing her eyes. Harry grinned and started running his fingers gently through her now wilted curls.
It was safe in that living room: there was no Voldemort, no Horcruxes, no Ron, no Ginny... There was only Harry, Hermione, and the silence... They didn't want to get up from there, no... Never...
"Harry?" Hermione whispered, not daring to completely break that cozy atmosphere they were submerged in.
"Mmm."
"Where are we going after this?" she wanted to know, yawning. Harry's fingers didn't stop running through her hair, and she took that as a good sign.
"I don't know," he responded with a heavy voice. "I don't know where to start."
"We should go to Grimmauld Place," Hermione stated. Now Harry's fingers did stop moving, and she sensed his discomfort.
"No." Just like that, deadpan. At this, Hermione straightened up on the couch, facing him.
"I think I know who R.A.B is," she blurted out. Harry's eyes widened.
"Who?" His tone was urgent, amazed. Hermione bit her lower lip.
"Well, I think- Remember Sirius had a brother?"
"Yeah, the death eater one... But what does he have to do with anything?" he asked, frowning.
"Sirius said that he was killed because he wanted to back out," Hermione said. "But what if he knew something else? Something he didn't have to know about?" she told him. At her intense gaze wheels started to turn inside Harry's head, trying to remember what the paper inside the locket said- "... but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can..." "R.A.B stole the Horcrux..." Harry muttered, and Hermione grinned.
"Regulus A. Black!" she squeaked. Harry's mouth fell slightly open.
"But he stole the Horcrux, and wrote that he'd destroy it as soon as he could-" Hermione nodded eagerly at this.
"But what if he never got to destroy it? What if he hid it in the one place no one would look in?" Hermione gushed excitedly. Harry's mind was racing, trying to see the connection- Hermione had said that they should return to Grimmauld Place; Sirus's brother; but they had already cleaned the house-
"The locket!" Harry breathed as this thought hit him like a slap in the face. Hermione beamed at him.
"None of us could open it, remember?" she said. Harry was still processing the fact that they now knew where the next Horcrux was- He looked over at Hermione, who was grinning widely, and hugged her tightly.
"Harry! What-" Hermione was cut off by Harry's laughter as he lifted her up in the air, still hugging her, and spun her around. He felt so happy, so excited, and so grateful and relieved. She couldn't understand.
"I love you," he told her huskily, kissing her fully on the mouth. Hermione widened her eyes at the power he was transmitting through his lips, but soon enough she started to return it with equal force. Harry didn't need to explain the reason for his happiness, he needn't worry that she wouldn't understand- she already knew.
A loud, crashing sound reverberated on the living room, making Harry and Hermione spring apart guiltily, as though struck by a lightening; they had briefly forgotten that they were still in the Burrow. They both turned around to spot the source of the noise, and Hermione winced while Harry paled slightly.
A fuming, red, blistering Ron glared at them from the kitchen table; not bothering to even look at the plates lying broken at his feet.
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A/N: And that's that, for this chapter. I hoped you liked it, and I hope you'll let me know what you though of it by reviewing! Until next chapter!
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